Grow 30,000 trees to restore India's cloud forest

In the Khasi Hills in India, WeForest partnered with a federation of 10 indigenous governments and 62 Khasi villages to restore areas of forest through assisted natural regeneration with enrichment planting. Communities are empowered and run the nurseries that provide the seedlings. The project also tackles the drivers of deforestation (charcoal production, grazing and forest fires): fuel efficient cooking sets and subsidies for LPG connections are being provided for households to reduce the pressure on forests.

Meet Medalin, a 32 year-old labourer and mother of four living in the Mawlum Thyrsad Village. In the past, her family used up more than 1800 kg of firewood for cooking every year. In addition to being inefficient and contributing to tree felling, their dependence on firewood added more than 200 euros equivalent to the family’s annual expenses. In the winter, the family also had to operate a costly electric heater.

Thanks to a 40% subsidy from WeForest, Medalin was able to afford an LPG connection. Now she uses gas for both cooking and heating for a fraction of the cost, protecting her family from the health-damaging smoke and protecting the forests of the Khasi Hills.

Thanks to your support, we can continue engaging members of the Khasi community like Medalin and keep adding to more than 1.5 million trees we have already planted in the Khasi Hills. These trees directly restore more than 2 200 hectares of forest, bringing benefits to people, ecosystems and climate.